cheap

 
Pronunciation: /tʃiːp/

adjective

  • 1low in price, especially in relation to similar items or services: local buses were reliable and cheap
  • charging low prices: a cheap restaurant
  • inexpensive because of inferior quality: cheap, shoddy goods
  • 2of little worth because achieved in a discreditable way requiring little effort: her moment of cheap triumph
  • deserving contempt: a cheap trick
  • North American informal miserly: she’s too cheap to send me a postcard

adverb

  • at or for a low price: a house that was going cheap because of the war

Phrases

cheap and cheerful

British simple and inexpensive.

cheap and nasty

British of low cost and bad quality: the materials can seem a bit cheap and nasty

cheap at the price (or humorous at half the price)

British well worth having, regardless of the cost: as an investment for the future, the books are cheap at the price

on the cheap

informal at low cost: proper care cannot be provided on the cheap

Derivatives

cheapish

adjective

cheaply

adverb

cheapness

noun

Origin:

late 15th century: from an obsolete phrase good cheap 'a good bargain', from Old English cēap 'bargaining, trade', based on Latin caupo 'small trader, innkeeper'